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Toronto, Canada

Today I made good on yesterday’s threat to go up CN Tower. The weather was beautiful so there was no point waiting for a rainy day! I got the streetcar straight there to try and beat the crowds that apparently a clear day like this can bring. Either I beat them or they didn’t arrive but I went straight through the labyrinth designed to funnel tourists to the elevator via the most circuitous means. This included a security checkpoint where you stand in a booth that attacks you with little puffs of air all over. Apparently, the puffs knock off any particles with traces of explosives which are collected in a vacuum at the bottom and analysed. I passed the test and wasn’t allowed to have another go no matter how much it tickled!

The views from the top were, of course, spectacular. I took photos in every direction, including straight down through the glass floors! I tried to get the best photos I could but new that I was missing some angle, some shadow, some camera setting, some framing but ultimately concluded I was just missing someone, someone who also loves the kitchness of tall towers and would somehow take that magic photo that no one else was capable of, especially me.

With that in mind, I gave up and went for the traditional tall-tower-cafe experience. It was disappointing sophisticated, especially compared to the likes of the TV Turm in Berlin. I was torn between the ever reliable chocolate fondant cake or the more Canadian maple pecan pie. Knowing this was likely to be my only meal for the day, I opted for the higher in protein pecan pie – let it not be said that I’m not looking after myself! I was also delighted when my coffee was served with a souvenir CN Tower stirrer which I promptly deposited in my bag.

I was bought back down to earth and set free to explore more of the city on foot. The weather held and the city just burst with the goodness of spring. When I said New York had a lot of tulips, I hadn’t anticipated Toronto!

The rest of the day was spent meandering around the old town through St Lawrence Market, back through the centre, across to the Art Gallery of Ontario which was redesigned in recent years by local-boy-made-good, Frank Ghery. A little too tired and emotional for the full gallery experience, I did the cheats version and looked in the gift shop instead to glean the highlights through the exhibition books on display. With just enough fuel left in the tank, I did a lap of Chinatown to round out the day before heading home to a still rodent-free apartment.

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